Device for regulating the operations of the friction welder

ABSTRACT

A regulating device for regulating the operations of a friction welder is mounted on a slide table which is slidably mounted on the base of the welder. A plurality of regulating members are mounted on the regulating device in a parallel condition, and a plurality of limit switches are disposed in a limit switch box secured to the base of the friction welder. Each regulating member comprises a shaft supported by a pair of brackets secured to the slide table, a dog slidably mounted on the feed shaft, means for providing axial movement of the feed shaft, and means for reading the relation between the set position of the feed shaft and the dog to a feeler of one of the limit switches for precisely actuating the friction welder.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Seizo Hlrayama Karlya-shi, Japan [21]Appl. No. 750,073 [22] Filed Aug. 5, 1968 [45] Patented July 27,1971(73] Assignee Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokkl Seisakusho Kariya-shi,Aichi-Ken, Japan [32] Priority 7 Aug. 5, 1967 [33] Japan [311" 50391/67[S4] DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE OPERATIONS OF THE FRICTION WELDER 4Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] [1.8. CI 228/2, 29/4703, 156/73, 228/8 [5|] Int. Cl 823k 27/00 [50]Field of Search 29/4703; 228/2, 8; 156/73 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,455,494 7/1969 Stamm '228/2 Blum et a1 3,388,847 6/1968228/2 3,337,108 8/1967 Taylor 228/2 3,235,106 2/1966 Walton 228/23,234,644 2/1966 Hollander 29/4703 Primary ExaminerJohn F. CampbellAssistant Examiner-Robert J. Craig An0meys-Robert E. Burns and EmmanuelJ. Lobato ABSTRACT: A regulating device for regulating the operations ofa friction welder is mounted on a slide table which is slidably mountedon the base of the welder. A plurality of regulating members are mountedon the regulating device in a parallel condition, and a plurality oflimit switches are disposed in a limit switch box secured to the base ofthe friction welder. Each regulating member comprises a shaft supportedby a pair of brackets secured to the slide table, a dog slidably mountedon the feed shaft, means for providing axial movement of the feed shaft,and means for reading the relation between the set position of the feedshaft and the dog to a feeler of one of the limit switches for preciselyactuating the friction welder.

PATENTEU JUL27 t91l SHEET 1 OF 2 DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE OPERATIONS OFTHE; FRICTION WELDER The present invention relates to a device forregulating the operations of a friction welder, and moreparticularly,for

regulating such operations by presetting the working position ofactuating means which actuate the mechanism of the friction welder.

Generally, in a typical friction welding of two workpieces, a workpieceis held by a rotatable holding chuck secured to a first spindle, andanother workpiece is held by a stationary holding chuck mounted on aslide table. Next, the stationary chuck is moved toward the rotatableholding chuck and the spindle is revolved. This movement of the slidetable is hereinafter referred to as forward movement." Forward movementof the slide table is performed at high speed to obtain high workingefficiency. However, to prevent trouble caused by impact of theworkpieces, it is required to move the slide table at a very slow speedjust before contact of the workpieces. This slow speed movement of theslide table is hereinafter referred to as slow speed movement." Aftercontact of both workpieces, the workpiece held by the stationary chuckis pressed to the workpiece held by the rotating chuck with apredetermined axial pressure. By the above-mentioned operation,sufi'icient heat is generated by friction to effect a weld of theworkpieces. Thereafter, the relative rotation of the workpieces isstopped and the pressure applied to the workpieces is increased untilthe weld is completed. This welding operation is hereinafter referred toas upset operation." After completion of the upset operation, the firstworkpiece, held by the rotatable chuck, is released and the slide tableis returned to its original position while carrying the welded productwhich is then removed from the stationary chuck. In the above-mentionedoperations, it is desired to regulate the starting of the slow-speedmovement of the slide table and the beginning of the upset operation.Furthermore, to obtain a satisfactory weld, the longitudinal dimensionof the workpieces must be checked before'starting the heat-generatingoperation.

For relatively simple operations, such regulation has been attempted bythe combination of a horizontal shaft mounted on the slide table of thefriction welder, and a plurality of dogs mounted on the shaft atpositions facing a plurality of limit switches secured to the base ofthe friction welder.

In other attempts to achieve such regulation, for more complexoperations, a pair of horizontal shafts of the regulating device aredisposed to both sides of the welder, and a plurality of dogs are alsomounted on the shafts in the same manner as mentioned above. Theadjustment of the dogs becomes complex, however, if a large number ofregulations are required for several operations of the friction welder,thereby causing interference problems between the dogs.

Recently, compactness of the welder has become desireable in order tosave installation space and to provide easy operation of the welder.However, it is impossible to obtain compactness of the regulating deviceby the above-mentioned arrangement of the shafts. Furthermore, it isrequired to operate the friction welding apparatus more precisely inaccordance with the enlargement of the market for such weldingtechniques.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a regulatingdevice having a centralized means for regulating the operations of thefriction welder, and to provide a regulating device for the frictionwelder in which precise adjustments can be made.

Another object of the invention is to provide a regulating device whichis disposed with respect to a certain portion of the friction welder.

Other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings, and will beparticularly pointed out in the claims.

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of a friction welder to which theregulating device of the invention is attached,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the regulating device shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side view, partly broken away, of an element of theregulating device shown in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion of an adjusting thimble mounted onthe regulating device shown in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the main portion of another embodiment of theregulating device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, in one embodiment of the invention, aregulating device is attached to a friction welder, a spindle head 2 ismounted on a base I of the friction welder, and a spindle 3 is rotatablysupported by the spindle head 2. A motor 4 is mounted on the base 1, andthe spindle 3 is driven by a belt drive mechanism comprising a pulley 5secured to a shaft of the motor 4, a pulley 6 secured to an end of thespindle 3 and a belt 7, as shown in FIG. 1. A chuck 8 is rigidly securedto an inside end of the spindle 3, and a workpiece 9 can be rigidlysupported by the chuck 8. A stationary chuck it) is mounted on a slidetable 11 slidably mounted on the base 1, and a workpiece 12 can berigidly supported by the stationary chuck 10. A hydraulic cylinder 13 isalso secured to the base 1, and an end of a piston rod 14 of thehydraulic cylinder 13 is connected to the slide table 11, so that theslide table 11 can be moved towards the spindle head 2 or away from thespindle head 2 (hereinafter called the rearward movement) by the actionof the hydraulic cylinder 13. A regulating device 15 of the invention isdisposed with respect to the slide table 11 that the hydraulic cylinder13 may be so actuated and controlled by electrical signals of theregulating device 15. a

The regulating device 15 comprises a pair of brackets 16 and 17perpendicularly projected from the slide table 11, and a plurality ofregulating members disposed parallel with the direction of the slidemovement and supported by the brackets 16 and 17. The bracket secured tothe slide table at the left side in FIG. 1 is hereinafter called thefront bracket 16, and the other bracket is hereinafter called the rearbracket 17. Each regulating member comprises a shaft 18 supported by thefront bracket l6, a dog 20 slidably mounted on the shaft 18, a sleeve 21rigidly supported by the rear bracket 17, and an adjusting thimble 23which is rotatably engaged with the outer surface of the sleeve 21 andfixedly connected with the end of the shaft 18 by a setscrew. One end ofthe shaft 18 is received in an aperture 19 of the front bracket 16 insuch a way that the end of the shaft 18 is turnably and slidablysupported by the aperture 19. The sleeve 21 engages with a threadedportion 22 of the other end of the shaft 18 as shown in FIG. 3.Setscrews 25 and 26 are used for respectively setting the shaft 18 tothe front bracket 16, and the sleeve 21 to the rear bracket 17.Furthermore, a setscrew 27 is used for setting the dog 20 to the shaft18. Therefore, when the setting of the shaft 18 to the front bracket 16is released by loosening the setscrew 25, and the adjusting thimble 23is turned by manual operation, the shaft 18 can be moved along its axisby the turning motion of the shaft 18 by way of the rotation of theadjusting thimble 23.

A limit switch box 29 is mounted to the base 1 of the friction welder,and a plurality of limit switches 30 are mounted in the limit switch box29. Feeier 31 of each limit switch 30 is projected toward the path ofits respective dog so as to contact with a tapered portion 28 on theforward portion of the dog 20 when the dog 20 is moved together with theslide table 11. Each of the set positions of the dogs 20 isindependently selected as is explained in detail hereinafter.

In the present embodiment of each shaft 18, the threaded portion 22 isprovided with threads having a certain pitch designated by P."Consequently, when its adjusting thimble 23 is turned one round, theshaft 18 is moved in the forward direction or rearward direction by thesame distance as pitch P. To obtaina precise setting of the shaft 18together with the dog 20, a vernier scale is provided on the engagingportions of the sleeve 21 and the adjusting thimble 23. That is, a roundscale 32 is marked on the tapered portion 28 of the adjusting thimble23, with equal intervals, and a lateral scale 33 is marked on the sleeve21 as shown in FIG. 4. If the pitch P equals 1 mm. and the scale 33 isprovided with intervened marks made with equal interval, the shaft 18can be moved in its axial direction by 1 mm. when the adjusting thimble23 is turned one round. The adjusting thimble 23 can be turned preciselyby watching the relative position of the marks 32 and 33. Consequently,a very precise setting of the position of the shaft 18 together with thedog 20 can be obtained by using of this vernier scale.

In the operation of the device, the slide table 1 l is shifted in theforward direction 8 and stopped at a position where the workpieces 9 and12 contact each other. This position is hereinafter called the originalworking position of the adjusting member of the invention. Aftermovement of the slide table 11 to the original working position, thefastening of the dog 20 to the shaft 18 by the setscrew 27 is releasedand next the dog 20 is moved to a position adjacent the feeler 31 of thelimit switch 30, whereupon the dog 20 is again secured to the shaft 18by the setscrew 27. Next, the fastening of the shaft 18 to the frontbracket by the setscrew 25 is released, and the shaft 18 is moved in theforward direction by turning the adjusting thimble 11. When the taperedportion 28 of the dog 20 contacts the feeler 31 of the limit switch 30,a certain signal such as a red lamp or a buzzer is actuated to indicatethe operating position of the limit switch 30, and the vernier scale isread at this position.

After the above-mentioned procedure, the adjusting thimble 23 is turnedto the opposite direction to move the feed shaft 18 in the backwarddirection, and when a predetermined distance of the backward movementwhich corresponds to the beginning of the upset operation of thefriction welding is detected by the vernier scale of the adjustingthimble 23 and the sleeve 21, the shaft 18 is fastened to the frontbracket 16 by the setscrew 25. By the above-mentioned setting operationof the shaft 18 and the dog 20 against the limit switch 30, thebeginning of the upset operation of the friction welding can be setprecisely. In other words, the upset movement of the slide table 11 isregulated precisely by the action of the limit switch 30 and the dog 20of the regulating device of the invention because the actuation of thehydraulic cylinder 13 is precisely controlled by the electrical signalof the limit switch 30 caused by the contact of the dog with the feeler31 of the limit switch 30.

The other shafts and dogs of the device can be set by the same generalprocedure as mentioned above, for regulating the entire operation of thefriction welder. For example, the shaft and dog of the regulating memberfor regulating the starting of the slow speed movement of the slidetable 11 can be set in the same way as mentioned above by locating thedesired position for the beginning of such slow speed movement.

When it is necessary to check the'llongitudinal dimension of theworkpieces, a pair of workpieces having standard length are prepared andheld by the chucks 8 and 10, and the slide table 11 is moved toward theforward direction so as to bring the standard workpieces into contactwith each other. At this position. dogs 20 mounted on two shafts 18 aremoved to the position adjacent to the feelers 31 of the limit switches30 after releasing the fastening of their respective setscrews 27. Thenthese dogs 20 are secured to the shafts 18 respectively by the setscrews27. Next, the fastening of the setscrews is released, and shafts 18 aremoved toward the forward direction by turning the adjusting thimbles 23until there is contact of the taper portion of the dogs 20 with thefeelers 31 to actuate the limit switches 30. The above-mentionedmovements of the shafts 18 are performed separately. The contactposition of the dog 20 with the feeler 31 of the limit switch is read bythe scale of the adjusting thimble 23 and the sleeve 21, for both shafts18. Then the slide table 11 is shifted in the rearward direction for acertain distance, and the upper regulating member is used for definingthe upper tolerance of the total length of the workpieces. In this casethe shaft 18 is moved to the forward direction by turning the adjustingthimble 23 until the reading of the vernier scale shows the forwardmovement of the shaft 18 corresponding to a predetermined uppertolerance. Then the upper shaft is secured to the front bracket by thesetscrew 25. The setting of the shaft and its dog for defining the lowertolerance can be performed by the same way as the manner of setting theupper tolerance except an opposite turning of the adjusting thimble 23is performed, which causes the lower shaft 18 to move in the rearwarddirection. Therefore, when the slide table 11 is moved to the forwarddirection after holding the workpieces by the chucks 8 and 10, if thetotal length of the workpieces is longer than the upper limitationdefined by the upper tolerance, the workpieces contact each other beforecontacting the dog 20 with the feeler 31 of the limit switch 30, and ifthe total length of the workpieces is shorter than the lower limitationdefined by the lower tolerance, the dog 20 of the lower regulatingmember contacts the feeler 31 of the limit switch 30 before theworkpieces contact each other. In the above-mentioned two cases, thetotal length of the workpieces is detected as being incorrect, and therotation of the spindle 3 is stopped and the workpieces are released andtaken from the chucks 8 and 10. The above-mentioned test of the lengthof the workpieces can be applied very easily for testing the length ofthe product of the friction weld- As it is clearly shown in thedrawings, a plurality of shafts are disposed to the regulating device ina superimposed and parallel condition. Consequently, in case ofcontrolling a plurality of different performances of the frictionwelding by the regulating members of the invention, any interference forsetting position of the dogs of the regulating members can be completelyprevented. Thus, a very compact regulating device for regulating theoperations of the friction welder can be provided by the presentinvention. Further, it must be noticed that the friction weldingoperations are performed precisely and automatically in sequence byapplying the regulating device having a plurality of regulating membersaccording to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the regulating device of theinvention comprises a shaft 35 and a sleeve 36 supported by the shaft35, and a dog 38 engaged with the threaded portion 37 of the sleeve 36by way of thread engagement. The sleeve 36 can be secured to the shaft35 by the setscrew 39, and as mentioned above, the dog 38 can be movedin the axial direction. A locking nut 40 is also engaged with thethreaded portion 37 of the sleeve 36 as shown in FIG. 5, and the setposition of the dog 38 can be fixed by fastening the locking nut 40 tothe dog 38. At the tapered portion of the dog 38 and the portion of thesleeve 37 facing to the feeler 31, marks 41 and 42 of a vernier scaleare provided, respectively, in the same way as shown in FIG. 4. In thisembodiment, the shaft 35 is always secured to the front bracket 16 andbracket 17. The setting of the dog 38 to the feed shaft 37 is made asfollows: After movement of the slide table 11 at the original workingposition, the fastening of the sleeve 37 to the shaft 35 is released bythe setscrew 39, and next the sleeve 36 is moved -to a position adjacentto the feeler 31. Then the sleeve 37 is secured to the shaft 35 byfastening the setscrew 39. After setting the sleeve 37 to the shaft 35,the locking nut 40 is released and the dog 38 is turned so as to move inthe forward direction. When the tapered portion of the dog 38 contactswith the feeler 31 of the limit switch 30, a signal is sent in the samemanner as described in the first embodiment, and the vernier scale isread at this position. After the above-mentioned operation, the dog 38is turned in the opposite direction to move it in the backwarddirection, and when a predetermined distance of the backwarddisplacement which corresponds to the beginning of the upset operationof the friction welding is detected by the vernier scale of the dog 38and the sleeve 42, the dog 38 is locked to the sleeve 38 by the lockingnut 40.

Obviously many modifications and variations concerning this inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to'beunderstood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than asdescribed.

What I claim is:

1. In an improved'friction welder including a base, a slide table and aspindle head mounted on the base, a spindle rotatably mounted on thespindle head and having means connected thereto for rotating thespindle, drive means mounted on the base and connected to the slidetable for moving the slide table toward and away from the spindle, and aplurality of switches mounted on the base and having mechanicalactuators, said switches being connected to the drive means forcontrolling the movement of the slide table by said drive means, whereinthe improvement comprises:

a regulating device for said drive means, said device including a pairof brackets mounted on said slide table, a plurality of regulatingmembers mounted in parallel on said brackets and aligned with thedirection of movement of said slide table, a corresponding plurality ofdogs mounted on said regulating members and disposed with respect tosaid mechanical actuators of said switches to actuate said switches uponmovement of said slide table, and adjustable means on each saidregulating member for precisely adjusting the positions of said dogswith respect to said slide table, whereby said dogs are positioned toactuate said switches at precise points of travel of said slide table tocontrol said drive means.

2. An improved friction welder as set forth in claim 1, in

which each said regulating member comprises a shaft having one of saiddogs and one of said adjustable means mounted thereon, and in which saidadjustable means on each said shaft includes means for reading theposition of contact of the dog on that shaft with its respective switchactuator.

3. An improved friction welder as set forth in claim 2, furthercomprising a plurality of sleeves having internal threads and beingmounted on one of said brackets, said shafts are threadably received atone in said respective sleeves and received at their other ends in theother of said brackets, said adjustable means comprising a plurality ofthimbles mounted respectively for axial sliding movement on saidsleeves, each said thimble being fixed to its respective shaft forrotating said shaft, and in which said means for reading the position ofcontact of the dogs with the switch actuators includes markings on saidsleeves and thimbles comprising vernier scales.

4. An improved friction welder as set forth in claim 2, furthercomprising a plurality of sleeves mounted respectively on said shafts,each said sleeve having an externally threaded portion and having areduced smooth portion at one end, and in which each said dog comprisesa thimble having internal threads and being received respectively onsaid threaded portions of said sleeves for adjustable movement alongsaid sleeves, each sleeve having a locking nut thereon for locking saidthimbles in position on said sleeves, and in which said means forreading the position of contact of the dogs with the switch actuatorsincludes markings on said sleeves and thimbles comprising vernierscales.

1. In an improved friction welder including a base, a slide table and aspindle head mounted on the base, a spindle rotatably mounted on thespindle head and having means connected thereto for rotating thespindle, drive means mounted on the base and connected to the slidetable for moving the slide table toward and away from the spindle, and aplurality of switches mounted on the base and having mechanicalactuators, said switches being connected to the drive means forcontrolling the movement of the slide table by said drive means, whereinthe improvement comprises: a regulating device for said drive means,said device including a pair of brackets mounted on said slide table, aplurality of regulating members mounted in parallel on said brackets andaligned with the direction of movement of said slide table, acorresponding plurality of dogs mounted on said regulating members anddisposed with respect to said mechanical actuators of said switches toactuate said switches upon movement of said slide table, and adjustablemeans on each said regulating member for precisely adjusting thepositions of said dogs with respect to said slide table, whereby saiddogs are positioned to actuate said switches at precise points of travelof said slide table to control said drive means.
 2. An improved frictionwelder as set forth in claim 1, in which each said regulating membercomprises a shaft having one of said dogs and one of saiD adjustablemeans mounted thereon, and in which said adjustable means on each saidshaft includes means for reading the position of contact of the dog onthat shaft with its respective switch actuator.
 3. An improved frictionwelder as set forth in claim 2, further comprising a plurality ofsleeves having internal threads and being mounted on one of saidbrackets, said shafts are threadably received at one in said respectivesleeves and received at their other ends in the other of said brackets,said adjustable means comprising a plurality of thimbles mountedrespectively for axial sliding movement on said sleeves, each saidthimble being fixed to its respective shaft for rotating said shaft, andin which said means for reading the position of contact of the dogs withthe switch actuators includes markings on said sleeves and thimblescomprising vernier scales.
 4. An improved friction welder as set forthin claim 2, further comprising a plurality of sleeves mountedrespectively on said shafts, each said sleeve having an externallythreaded portion and having a reduced smooth portion at one end, and inwhich each said dog comprises a thimble having internal threads andbeing received respectively on said threaded portions of said sleevesfor adjustable movement along said sleeves, each sleeve having a lockingnut thereon for locking said thimbles in position on said sleeves, andin which said means for reading the position of contact of the dogs withthe switch actuators includes markings on said sleeves and thimblescomprising vernier scales.